“True, but the effect of it may well take some time to reveal itself.”
They had had a nice time away from it all but the passionate moments he had contemplated would not come now. Their time away was very clearly over. He took her hand and they started back. She said nothing that showed she knew what he had planned by bringing her out here and took that as a good sign. He had still been ready for some reaction over what they had shared before being interrupted yet again in the house he had used, but no guilt and no hint of shame. That had him wondering when he could arrange another time and place away from all the others. It was far past time that he started thinking about what exactly he wanted from Abigail Jenson.
Then he thought about Julia, a young woman who carried a child but no longer had a husband because the man who had wed her had been killed. His time would come, too. A man could not keep riding into battle as he did and not face his death. When he thought of Abigail and how she might fare if left alone with his child, he knew it was definitely past time for him to think beyond his own needs and wants and consider the future.
Before they were in sight of the town, he tugged her into his arms and kissed her. Her tense surprise melted away quickly and she became soft and willing in his arms. His body responded until he was so hard he almost groaned with the need to take her. When he leaned back, breaking the kiss, he thought she had never looked more beautiful. She stared up at him, her cheeks lightly flushed and her lips slightly parted.
“Someone might see us,” she said in a soft, husky voice that fired his blood.
“Nay, but we best behave or I will be tempted too sorely.”
Abigail heard herself giggle and almost groaned. She never giggled, had forced herself to stop once she became an adult, except when her father had tickled her. That thought made her sad but she tried to shake the sadness away. As she had told Noah, it was a good memory and one she should cherish.
“What is wrong?” he asked, stroking her cheek to try and ease the sadness that had abruptly darkened her eyes.
“Oh, nothing really. I just had a memory of my father.”
He grimaced. “Not exactly what a man wants to hear, Abbie.”
Abigail smiled. “It was a very pleasant memory.”
Matthew shrugged then put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to his side as they began walking again. “I hope Mrs. Beaton isnae waiting on ye.”
“I doubt she will be. She never waits for any of the women although I believe she knows who is out walking with a gentleman until late. There is no scold but there can be some haughty looks of disapproval.”
“How is she treating Julia now?”
“As if she doesn’t exist. Julia says she has to pinch herself now and then to make certain she is actually still visible. I was afraid it would hurt her feelings but the other women are so nice to her she doesn’t seem to care. Or, rather, doesn’t care anymore. At first all the women were a little cool to her.”
“Does it really matter?”
“No, but then there have been so many odd turns to this, I am not sure what to trust any longer.”
“What odd turns?”
“Oh, let us start at the beginning, shall we? When I asked her when she thought she got with child she told me one thing only to later mention that it might have been three or four months before that. Then I wondered if she was still wrong about that because she was not really showing much only to have her tell me all about her family, the women especially, and how they never show until late.” She leaned closer and whispered, “They tend to carry wide.” She shook her head. “So when she started showing she was actually sure she was wrong about when she got with child, plus she had taken to wearing a binding to hide it.
“Then Robert died. She insisted on being there even though she could barely stand upright, she was weeping so hard. Now she takes it into her head at odd moments to visit his grave and then I have to go and fetch her back.”
“So she is near her time already and has had a hard shock.”
“It sounds so simple when you say it that way, but if her shock starts her labor, will the babe be full term? And if the babe does come and it is early what will that do to her? I do not know enough about it all to be confident enough to deal with such a thing. All the women I dealt with before were sturdy country stock.”
“Then call in the doctor,” he said as they stopped in front of the door.
“Maybe.” She opened the door only to be dragged inside by a frantic Mrs. Beaton. Behind the woman ranged all the other women and every one of them looked frantic. She glanced up the stairs and saw the four children sitting there trying not to look scared and failing. Noah saw her and ran down, quickly followed by the others. If Matthew had not had a hold on her she suspected she would have tumbled down the steps when they all slammed into her.
When she finally got the women to be quiet, Abbie could hear the noise Julia was making. She patted Noah’s head as he clung to her legs and she looked at Matthew. “Can you help the children?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said, and tugged Noah away. “Go on up. See what needs to be done. If ye need anything just give a bellow.”
“I never bellow,” she called back as she ran up the stairs.
Abigail threw her coat over the hall railing and raced into her room. Julia was in bed clutching the covers and moaning. After getting a pan of water, Abigail got some rags. She then put several bedsheets under Julia. As she sat down near the bed, she sighed because she had the feeling it was going to be another very long night.
“It is all right, Julia,” Abbie said.
“No, it isn’t and it never will be. My Robert is gone.”
“I am more sorry than I can say about that but right now you carry a piece of him and I am here to make certain you birth a healthy child. Put your mind to that, to the hard business of having his child.”
“I will,” Julia said although her tears slowed only a little. “He was so happy about the baby.”
“Just remember that. When did your pains start?”
“Just a couple of hours ago. I was so uncomfortable up here so I went down to sit in one of the comfortable chairs and talk with the others. Then I was suddenly sitting in a puddle and the pains began. Will it be done soon?”
“I have no idea, Julia. Every woman is different.”
“They are indeed,” said Rose as she strode into the room. Rose walked over and sat in a chair on the other side of Julia’s bed. “So, child, your time is here.”
“It is. No one told me how much it hurts.”
“Don’t fight the pain and it will be easier.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does, Julia,” Abigail said. “If the pain is all your mind is set on, it makes it seem greater than it might be. I always tell people to take deep breaths and then let the air back out slowly.”
“And that works?”